Photo courtesy of Elena Rioché
By JOHN HARLOW | Editor-in-Chief
The art of painting outdoors—for the inspiration, the light and the company—was formalized as “plein air” by 19th-century realists inspired by John Constable and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot.
But you don’t have to be an Old Master, or own a beret, to enjoy the low-key pleasures of immortalizing the moment by painting the scenery—whether pasture or beach—around you.
Art organizer Russell Hunziker, from Lower Las Casas, has been luring would-be painters outside through the organization called Allied Artists of Santa Monica Mountains and Seashore because, he said, paint-outs are a great way to meet other artists and discover new vistas to explore in oil or watercolor.
There is no membership requirement, or art school entry exam.
The only requirements, he explained, are art supplies—including an easel—food and water, hat and bug spray, and a pair of open eyes to the extraordinary beauty of California.
The next meet-up will be at the parking area of El Matador Beach, located in Malibu, at 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12—plenty of time to buy the art supplies and walking shoes.
There will be a demonstration by Topanga Canyon oil painter Elena Rioché, who visited Pacific Palisades last September for a plein air paint-out at Will Rogers State Historic Park with pastelist Bruce Trentham.
Rioché’s works are known in the plein air community for their natural beauty and sense of often-hazy stillness—a rare quality in the modern world.
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